You should try that Fabreeze stuff on the seat covers and ceiling fabric. I am a smoker as well, and my car does stink of stale tobacco, but spraying it with Fabreeze does help get rid of it.
You will never get rid of it. You can have teh carpets and ipolstery shampooed professioanlly, and that will go. You have to replace the roof lining to totaly get rid.
If a valetting fails, then spray something from a veternary chemist to get rid of pet smells. It will deal with all ouders includng spilt milk.
Put a wad of hay somewhere out of sight, as the herbal pot pouri is the best mask you can get. Change it once a week and you will soon get over the smell.
Lots of ways Wipe out with water and vinegar. Leave a small bowl of vinegar in the car over night. Leave a few big 100g sachets of silica gel in the car. Leave a basket or tray of cat litter in the car. Leave the windows open when secure to do so.
Air freshener only masks the smells or knocks out the smell receptors so a waste of time.
On Fri, 21 May 2004 23:47:24 +0100, Andy Hall strung together this:
Because some of us like it!
I used to have a van that I left 1/2 pint milk in. It hummed a bit after leaving it parked in the sun unattended for a week. I got rid of the smell by dousing a rag with discinfectant and leaving it dangling from the roof of the van, re-wetting it daily, and plenty of air freshener. The smell went after about a week. And a quick valet wouldn't go a miss either.
Unfortunately, if you're still a smoker, it's a fair bet your car still stinks a whole lot worse than you think it does, despite the Febreeze. Ask for a non-smoker's opinion.
If you ever quit, you'll soon find out what I'm talking about.
My wretch of a son brought back a PC from Uni when he finished it had been in his room for 3 years, with him sat next to it smoking for a lot of the day. The inside of it stunk to high heaven of nicotine and was covered in a thick, sticky layer of tar. We scrapped the PC because it was out of date and not worth cleaning.
I do reckon the tarry gook will have to be removed from the car interior. My personal recommendation would be one of those cleaners containing Orange/Citrus terpentines (D-Limononene). Orange Gold, or electrolube Label Remover and many others
I've completely cleaned electronics by stripping down, washing the boards in hot soapy water, followed by a rinse in distilled water, shaking as much off as possible, then putting in an oven at 50C for a few hours. (to dry) then at 100C for a few hours (to bake off the nicotine)
It really depends on how much you want to spend and the quality of the headlining.
Cleaning headlining is a pig of a job, especially if you want it done right, assuming you want to DIY you will probably need to hire a professional wet and dry vacuum cleaner, a household one just doesn't cut the mustard.
Use hot water and Fabric cleaner in the machine to the correct strength and wet the headlining a small area at a time and then vacuum dry. The vacuum has a clear acrylic head, so when the water runs clear you can move on to the next part of the headlining. You may want to use a stiff brush to agitate the dirt, don't rub too hard or the headlining will be damaged.
Its very important not to get the headlining too wet or try to do too much at anyone time, as the headlining may shrink or the glue holding it on may stop working.
As an alternative, try a professional car valeter and get them to give you an estimate for that specific job and get the interior cleaned while you are at it, especially if you've made big savings at the auction. I'm biased btw I worked for my brother valeting cars in the late 80's/early 90's.
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